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24 November 2009

HARRIS COUNTY SHERIFF'S DEPARTMENT PR MAN (AND FORMER CHRONSTER) ALAN BERNSTEIN and Grits for Breakfast blogger Scott Henson have an interesting back-and-forth on the proposed Harris County ~~jail~~ booking facility expansion.

Posted by Kevin Whited @ 11/24/09 07:05 AM | Comments (1)

23 November 2009

Houston Mayor Bill White: "I'm running for the U.S. Senate.... Yeah, I'm running for the U.S. Senate" (KVUE News, 20 November 2009).

Houston Mayor Bill White: "Today I agree to consider running for Governor, and shall make a decision by Friday, December 4th." (Bill White for Texas, 23 November 2009).

We're sure he'll bring decisive leadership to whatever race he eventually decides is the one he wants to run.

Posted by Kevin Whited @ 11/23/09 09:08 PM | Comments (10)

TEXAS WATCHDOG reports interesting details on the vague "conflict of interest" aside raised by the KPRC-2 story on the Parking Commission that Anne Linehan posted about yesterday:

Joe Martin and Bruce LaPree were on the appointed parking commission last year when the booting ordinance was created, asking questions and applying their expertise to the proposed ordinance. Records show that even before the Houston City Council approved the panel’s booting suggestions on Sept. 9, 2008, the two men had taken steps to create a company called Equipark....

[Martin and LaPree] said in separate interviews with Texas Watchdog last week that they immediately advised the city of their new business once it was beginning to take shape, but that the city attorney’s office simply advised that they get an attorney and present their case at a later date.

That was in September or October, LaPree said; according to Martin and LaPree, after numerous meetings with city officials and Houston’s ethics committee, the two were asked to step down from the parking commission late last year.

That is certainly an interesting twist! Mayor White's office, which likes to call itself transparent, had no comment for Texas Watchdog about the matter.

Posted by Kevin Whited @ 11/23/09 01:34 PM | Comments (8)

SELF-DESCRIBED "POLITICAL INSIDER" NANCY SIMS admits confusion on a local campaign topic:

Texas Watchdog is calling out Locke for not releasing his income tax returns. Parker has released hers. Locke might as well. This issue has always confused me. We require candidates to file detailed financial statements and you can view those on the City Secretary’s website. Yet, it has become common practice in campaigns to pressure candidates to release their income tax returns as well.

I'm just an outsider who doesn't attend Thanksgiving parties with mayoral candidates like some insiders, but I'll take a stab at this and suggest that income-tax information, tax liens, and financial/legal information beyond the basic required campaign-finance documents give voters (outsiders!) a much fuller picture of candidates for public office. The more information, the better (says the outsider with the Ph.D. in politics)! If candidates don't want the public scrutiny, then maybe it's best they remain in the private sector.

Now, why hasn't Gene Locke followed Annise Parker's lead and released his tax returns?

Posted by Kevin Whited @ 11/23/09 09:23 AM | Comments (11)

THE CHRON CAUCASIAN THINK TANK warns ominously today that "evidence continues to accumulate that the threat [of man-made global warming] is accelerating," and something must be done!

Apparently, the CCTT took a cue from faith-based man-made global-warming enthusiast and amateur weather forecaster SciGuy, and decided it would be best to ignore the revelations last week about the ~~faith-based~~ scientific global-warming community. Because "science" is all about ignoring facts that don't confirm your faith. *wink*

BLOGVERSATION: Unca Darrell.

Posted by Kevin Whited @ 11/23/09 09:03 AM | Comments (1)

The Chronicle ran an embarrassing correction last week: "The Mega Millions lottery numbers were incorrect in Wednesday's editions. The correct numbers are in today's lottery information on this page."

It's not the first time the newspaper has managed to get the lottery numbers wrong.

We've long warned Chron readers not to try the recipes without checking the corrections. Better not throw away your lottery tickets based on what the newspaper prints either!

Posted by Kevin Whited @ 11/23/09 08:26 AM | Comments (1)

LAST WEDNESDAY, a dog managed to strangle itself at BARC while an employee cleaned its cage. Unsurprisingly, White administration flacks delayed releasing any info until Friday, typically the day where news goes to die in this town. Craig Malisow posts several questions Elena Marks and White administration officials should have answered, but haven't.

UPDATE: Malisow has posted an update to the original post.

Posted by Kevin Whited @ 11/23/09 08:18 AM | Comments (0)

22 November 2009

THE CITIZEN-LED PARKING COMMISSION: KPRC-2 recently ran a story about drivers complaining how their cars were being booted even though they had paid to park. Color us unsurprised; after all, Liliana Rambo's Parking Commission has been a disaster pretty much from the get-go. But buried in KPRC's story was this gem:

A company called Equipark is among the new players in the arena. Chief Executive Officer Joe Martin said, "We're doing anywhere from 30 to 60 boots a day."

He admitted that he helped craft the city's boot ordinance while serving on the city of Houston Parking Commission.

"It kind of dawned on me that there may be a business opportunity here," he said.

Martin said he stepped down from the Parking Commission before the City Council passed the law to avoid a conflict of interest.

Back in 2006 when Mayor White announced the formation of the Houston Parking Commission, he made a big deal of calling it a "citizen-led" commission, with nine mayor-appointed members. Joe Martin was one of those average citizens. And after Joe "Citizen" Martin helped create the city's boot ordinance, a little light bulb went off in his head and he said, "Aha! I can make some money!"

Why in the world didn't the city have commission members sign something akin to a non-compete clause? Or at least an I-will-not-benefit-off-my-insider-knowledge-clause?

We wondered back in 2006 why no local media was interested in checking out the new Parking Commission members, and now we are wondering HOW Mayor White chooses the commission members.

Posted by Anne Linehan @ 11/22/09 04:29 PM | Comments (10)

VOTERS WHO SUPPORTED Klein ISD's bond referendum last year are now dismayed to learn the district has begun rethinking how to spend the bond money:

Klein ISD says the new scenarios are being presented because the economics of the original bond plan have changed in a down economy. Klein ISD spokesperson Trazanna Moreno says their analyses have shown a large impact by decreases in property values and a slow-down in the growth of the student population.

The biggest boondoggle in the bond proposal was the plan to raze and rebuild Klein High School. Thankfully, that stupid idea is at the top of the list of reconsiderations.

Posted by Anne Linehan @ 11/22/09 01:22 PM | Comments (4)

21 November 2009

THIS BLOG POST by Chron basketball writer Jonathan Feigen (he of the sometimes tortured prose) explains the latest Tracy McGrady controversy in detail, from an informed perspective. In contrast, here's a blog post from KTRK-13 sportsreader Tim Melton.

Posted by Kevin Whited @ 11/21/09 11:19 AM | Comments (0)

THE ANNISE PARKER CAMPAIGN emails that they've secured the endorsement of the Chron Caucasian Think Tank*.

We're disappointed. We were hoping for another lame dual endorsement that we could mock.

* Cory Crow's moniker for the current iteration of the Chron editorial board.

Posted by Kevin Whited @ 11/21/09 10:58 AM | Comments (6)

WE HAVE A NEW DANGEROUS TIME/PLACE/BEHAVIOR UPDATE, via KPRC-2: Weekends, Eleanor Tinsley Park, visiting a park.

Remember Chief Hurtt's motto -- you're pretty safe in Houston, except when you aren't.

Posted by Anne Linehan @ 11/21/09 09:08 AM | Comments (0)

REMEMBER ONE AND A HALF YEARS AGO when the Chron's Matt Stiles investigated dangerous apartment buildings, and the city began "in earnest" to crack down on slum-like properties? You'll recall state Rep. Hubert Vo was exposed as a serial slumlord, and Mayor White announced the city would set aside $1 million annually for "a new team of multifamily inspectors."

Well. KHOU-11 is reporting that city is REALLY going to get serious about it...in April 2010:

After an apartment stairwell in the 9400 block of Concourse collapsed and killed two young boys last year, we all learned just how little is being done to check the safety of apartment communities.

The city admitted the apartments where the two boys died hadn’t been inspected in 12 years.

The new program will be managed by Public Works. Beginning in April 2010, the department says it will take a proactive, instead of just a reactive approach.
“We are going to periodically cycle through all of the apartments through the city of Houston doing an inspection to be sure we’ve got compliance with the city codes,” said Andy Icken, Deputy Director of Public Works.

So, the city didn't start investigating and citing run-down apartments in 2008 as Mayor White said it would?

Posted by Anne Linehan @ 11/21/09 06:06 AM | Comments (3)

20 November 2009

CORY CROW comments on The Bill White-a-Palooza.

Posted by Kevin Whited @ 11/20/09 11:43 AM | Comments (0)

BEST EXCUSE FOR A CRASH we've seen in a while: "'She told the officer and the officer relayed to me that she was coming home and was eating cake and that she lost control of her car,' said Stidham" (KTRK-13 News).

Posted by Kevin Whited @ 11/20/09 07:53 AM | Comments (3)

19 November 2009

TEXAS WATCHDOG can't get a response from the Gene Locke campaign about the candidate's tax returns, but apparently "sources" have told KPRC-2's Mary Benton that they will be released in a few days.

We're expecting them to come out about 4:30 pm next Wednesday, just before Thanksgiving. But that's okay -- it will give watchdogs a nice long holiday to comb through them.

Posted by Kevin Whited @ 11/19/09 09:24 PM | Comments (1)

KTRK-13'S MIYA SHAY blogs about the big meeting between Roy Morales, Allen Blakemore, and Christian Archer.

We LOVE reading stories about Gene Locke power brokers groveling for the support of the guy who finished fourth AND loaned his campaign money at usurious interest rates. More of the same, please!

Posted by Kevin Whited @ 11/19/09 09:17 PM | Comments (0)

DAVID BENZION blogs that Texas voters should not allow Houston's Barbara Ann Radnofsky "anywhere near the AG's office."

We don't expect there's much chance of that.

Posted by Kevin Whited @ 11/19/09 09:05 PM | Comments (0)

THE CHRON'S "SCIGUY" blogs about the "disconnect between TV meteorologists and climate scientists on the issue of global warming."

For our part, we are frequently amused by the disconnect between faith-based global-warming enthusiasts who play meteorologists on their blogs, and... actual trained meteorologists.

Posted by Kevin Whited @ 11/19/09 09:04 PM | Comments (1)

THE CHRON (and other media outlets) love the "Muslim backlash" meme.

When the backlash never materializes, the natural followup is "[LATEST NEWS EVENT] raised fears."

Why does the newspaper waste its ever-shrinking print space with this?

Posted by Kevin Whited @ 11/19/09 09:03 PM | Comments (0)

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